A&M to hit road for demanding 3-game stretch

Updated 11:18 am, Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans (13) is brought down by LSU's Eric Reid (1) and Jalen Collins during the first quarter of a NCAA football game, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012, in College Station.

Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans (13) is brought down by LSU's Eric Reid (1) and Jalen Collins during the first quarter of a NCAA football game, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012, in College Station.

Photo: Nick De La Torre, Houston Chronicle

A&M to hit road for demanding 3-game stretch

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

COLLEGE STATION - When a triumphant LSU squad gathered in the southeast corner of Kyle Field for the school song with their fans and the LSU band on Saturday, the Aggies could only cast a few sullen glances in that direction while trudging toward their locker room.

No. 20 Texas A&M doesn't care to hear it considering the Aggies just fell to the No. 6 team by five points (24-19), but the truly demanding part of the schedule is now dead ahead, with three straight Southeastern Conference road games.

"I told everybody at the beginning of the season that if I talked about the back end of the schedule, I don't know if our team would show up," Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said.

The Aggies are 5-2, including 2-2 in league play, and where many predicted prior to their first season in the SEC. Their next opponent is not. Auburn, which won the national title two seasons ago, is 1-6 and has lost all five of its SEC games, including 17-13 on Saturday at Vanderbilt.

"We're going on the road in a situation where a team has its back against the wall, and it's a storied program and one of the winningest in history," Sumlin said. "We can't let this loss linger. It's not what happens to you, it's how you react."

Latest College Sports Highlights

What happened to the Aggies against the Tigers was five turnovers. They blew a 12-0 second quarter lead, with two of the miscues leading to LSU touchdowns just before halftime.

The Aggies follow their trip to Auburn with a game at unbeaten Mississippi State, which plays at top-ranked Alabama on Saturday. Then A&M also heads to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the first time in history.

The Aggies haven't played three consecutive games on their opponent's home field since 1979, when they played four straight at Baylor, Penn State, Memphis State and Texas Tech. A&M won't return home until rounding out the regular season on Nov. 17 against Sam Houston State and Nov. 24 against Missouri.

Meanwhile, the Aggies missed out Saturday on an opportunity to truly compete for a West Division title in their first year in the SEC. Their two league losses have been by a combined eight points.

"If a team just blows you out, then you know they're better. When it's this close, it's really painful," A&M defensive end Damontre Moore said following the heartbreaker to LSU.